Jon Jutzi isn’t the first hockey player to leave the professional ranks to step behind the bench, but the 28 year old wants to ease into his new role as Tavistock Braves’ assistant coach.

“I just wanted to stay involved,” he said. “Doing it locally is something I’ve always kind of wanted to do. I’ve always thought this community has been awesome with hockey, so I wanted to give back, and this is a great way to start.”

Jutzi – a steady defenceman who spent three years in the ECHL and played six games in the American Hockey League – will handle the Braves’ blue-liners and work with the penalty killers as he transitions from student to teacher.

“I’m more of a quiet, reserved guy,” he said. “I’ve always kind of been that way, so I didn’t know how it would translate into coaching. You learn so much throughout the process and pick up on different things, learn from some very intelligent people, and I have knowledge I can try to pass on and help these guys with. I think this is a good starting point to get into coaching here and really dive in and see if I like it and if it’s something worth pursuing.”

Jutzi grew up in the Oxford County town and played for the Titans until his bantam year when he went to Waterloo triple-A.

His post-minor hockey career took him to Elmira, where he played under head coach Geoff Haddaway, the 2017-18 Provincial Women’s Hockey League Coach of the Year. His coach at Minnesota State University, Mankato was Mike Hastings, the U.S. world junior bench boss. In the ECHL, Jutzi played for former NHLers Drake Berehowsky in Orlando and Riley Armstrong in Maine, and past pro Nick Bootland in Kalamazoo.

“Each guy has a different style,” Jutzi said. “It’s just interesting to look back and see the messages they were preaching, and you can pick up on those and hopefully apply them here.

“I just want to help these kids learn and develop and pass on what I’ve learned. It’s a completely different side of coaching than playing. I still have passion for it, so I think I’ll be able to adjust.”

As a player, Jutzi wasn’t flashy. He finished his ECHL career with five goals and 30 points in 139 regular season games.

With thoughts of retirement creeping in, Jutzi called it quits after a foot injury ended his 2018-19 season.

“I think I got to that age where I was ready to stay in one spot, settle down a bit and go on to the next chapter of my life,” he said. “Physically I could have pushed on and got to that point (of playing) again, but I was OK with being done.”

With a strong core returning from the group that finished first in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s Doherty Division last season, the Braves’ strength is up front and in net. It will be up to Jutzi to instil confidence in a defensive group that includes some new faces.

“Hockey is a game of mistakes,” he said. “That’s all it is. I don’t want to harp on mistakes, I just want guys to learn from them and try not to repeat mistakes.

“I don’t want these guys to put me on a pedestal at all. I came in playing junior hockey and just wanted to learn, and you don’t get to an age where you want to stop learning. You always want to continue to learn and grow, and that’s what I want to help them do.”